Businesswoman demands justice following alleged assault in Athinai Police custody

For Purity Nduku, her arrival at Athinai Police Post should have been an opportunity to resolve a dispute. Instead, she alleges, it became a painful ordeal in the hands law enforcers that left her with a broken tooth, injuries to her neck, chest, shoulder and head.

Nduku, a businesswoman claims she was assaulted by a female police officer at the Police post in Mogotio where she was taken in following a disagreement with an onion supplier.

She says the ordeal began with a disagreement over an onion consignment supplied to her by a wholesale trader identified as Kaluma. According to her account, the onions did not meet the agreed quality, prompting her to seek a replacement before making the outstanding payment.

The 30-year-old says the supplier initially agreed to collect for replacement the consignment that was substandard, but the dispute escalated when he later demanded his money for the 100 kg bag worth Sh 6,800 of onion he had dispatched to Nduku.

The disagreement turned into a police case where she alleges the supplier arrived with police officers, who arrested her and took her to Athinai Police Station.

It was at the station that the mother of one claim the situation took a violent turn.

"I was arrested on Thursday, October 8, at the station a female police officer confronted me and stripped my t-shirt and undergarment. She then began slapping and beating her. I was pushed against a wall and assaulted both verbally and physically despite pleading with the officer to stop, explaining that I had a pre-existing head related injury,” Nduku recalls, adding that the officer assaulted her while calling her a thief as per the onion supplier’s account.

Her husband, Paul Kimaru, says the assault left her with injuries, including a broken tooth, and that she later experienced severe pain and vomiting after leaving the station, prompting her to seek medical attention.

Kimaru notes they unsuccessfully tried to have their assault complaint recorded at the police station but encountered hostility with police declining to file their report. He says they subsequently sought assistance from gender-based violence support services and were advised to report their case to the next police station where they made their report to Kampi ya Moto Police post on October 9, and later with the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA).

" We are at a crossroads as police who are supposed to help us with our case are accusing us of dealing in illicit brew and theft, with an aim of diverting our assault case and quest for justice. I am appealing to IPOA to intervene and help us get justice for my wife," Kimaru noted

The family is seeking an investigation into the alleged assault and wants those responsible to be held accountable if found culpable.

However, Rongai Sub-County Police Commander Daniel Birech confirmed that Nduku had been arrested but denied that police officers assaulted her.

“The lady was not assaulted; her injuries were self-inflicted. She decided to remove her own clothes after being arrested for destroying someone’s crops. She was given cash bail to appear in court today,” Birech said.

The police commander's account differs sharply from Nduku's allegations, leaving competing accounts of what happened before and during her detention.

Nduku maintains that she was assaulted while in police custody and is demanding justice. The allegations have yet to be independently established, and an investigation would be necessary to determine the circumstances surrounding her injuries and whether any officer acted unlawfully.

While responding to the case, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) through its communication department confirmed that they have received the complaint and picked up the matter for investigation.

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